New in paperback. Hardcover was published in 2012. Afroasiatic languages are spoken by some 300 million people in Northern, Central and Eastern Africa and the Middle East. This book is the first typological study of these languages, which are comprised of around 375 living and extinct varieties. 'Formerly dominated by research on historical recontruction, this volume provides a new perspective on Afroasiatic by focusing on the typological wealth characterising this phylum.' - Bernd Heine.